Be Ready, Be CloveReady
Emergency Preparedness
City Manager David Kelley
It’s that time of year again, and the City of Cloverdale wants you to be prepared for emergencies that have the potential to impact our community. Resilient Cloverdale, a group of Cloverdale residents, businesses, and civic organizations, has developed for you CloveReady – how to be prepared in case of emergency. There are four easy steps you can learn to ensure that every resident understands the actions they can take before, during, and after an emergency to protect the health and well-being of their household and immediate neighbors.
1. Know Your Zone
2. Get Alerted
3. Pack a Little Bag
4. Have a Plan to Reunite
Visit our website https://cloveready.org/ to learn more about the initiative and ways you can get involved. Let’s walk through the four steps below.
Know your zone: The City of Cloverdale has established standardized evacuation zones for the incorporated area. The city encourages its residents to be familiar with their zone in case of an evacuation. The city map containing each boundary and zone can be found on the City of Cloverdale’s website. Learn your zone for home and work and be ready to go when an evacuation order or warning for your area is issued. To learn more about evacuation zones, visit: https://www.cloverdale.net/457/Emergency-Operation-Plan-and-Evacuation-
https://socoemergency.org/get-ready/evacuation-map/
Plan: When it’s time to evacuate and action is required, the City encourages residents to have a plan in place. Planning will give you the confidence to act and provide you with the necessary tools to stay safe. Below are some tips that you can use to help build your plan:
• Remember, first responders will be overloaded in a disaster; help yourself by planning in advance.
• People and pets are your priority.
• If you need help to evacuate, quickly reach out, in advance, to neighbors, family, or friends and discuss how they can assist you, what you will need, and a backup plan in case the immediate help is not able
to assist.
• Be sure to have an extra supply of life-saving medications and copies of prescriptions.
• Complete a Personal Emergency Plan and have it ready to go.
For more information on the Personal Emergency Plan, visit:https://socoemergency.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Emergency-Plan-Trifold-v6-English.pdf
https://s43263.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Emergency-Plan-Trifold-v6-Spanish.pdf
Alerts: The City of Cloverdale has experienced disasters over the past several years, including floods, power shutoffs, a pandemic, and wildfires that have threatened the incorporated population. The City’s alert and warning system is vital in early alert notifications, and residents are encouraged to sign up to receive life-saving alerts. Below are the links to sign-up and receive critical information from different warning systems within Sonoma County.
Nixle – Receive email and text messages from local fire and law enforcement agencies that include public safety messages and emergency information. Text your zip code to 888777 to opt-in or sign up online to receive email or text messages with alerts and advisories.
SoCoAlert – Upon signing up for SoCoAlert, select to receive alerts through landline calls, cell phone text messages, or pre-recorded verbal messages and email. The system also works with telephone devices for the deaf.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio – This alert system is available at a relatively low cost. When properly programmed, the National
Weather Service can remotely turn on these radios and send basic alerts, including for wildfires. The message may be accompanied by a warning tone, depending on the model of radio you purchase.
Sonoma County residents may tune their NOAA radio to:
County of Sonoma Frequency 162.475
Northwest Sonoma County Frequency 162.550
Southwest Sonoma County Frequency 162.475
Build a Go Kit: Everyone in your family should have their own Go Bag that contains a minimum of 72 hours’ worth of essential supplies. These kits are collections of supplies needed when an earthquake strikes, or an emergency evacuation is ordered. Personalize kits and keep them where they can easily be reached—at home, in the car, at work, or at school. This is particularly important when a quick getaway may be needed during fire season. A backpack or other small bag is best for these kits to be easily carried in an evacuation.
• Personal Preparedness Go Bags should contain a minimum of 72 hours worth of essential supplies:
• Medications/List of Medications
• Pet Food/List of Pet Medications
• Cell Phone Charger Cord
• Extra Set of Keys to cars/storage units/RV’s
• Flashlights w/Batteries
• Sanitizer/hand wipes, N95 mask
• Original Documents (Passports, Birth Certificates etc.)
• Clothes
Also: Keep your phones and laptops and tablets fully charged.
• Home Preparedness Kits should contain a minimum of 7 days’ worth of emergency supplies.
• Vehicle Preparedness Kits should contain a minimum of 24 hours’ worth of emergency supplies.
For more information on Personal Preparedness Go Bag: https://socoemergency.org/get-ready/build-a-kit/personal-go-bags/
Have a Plan to Reunite: Because disaster can happen at any time, have your plan in place to reunite with your family members before there is an emergency. Talk to your family members about locations within and outside of Cloverdale to reunite if separated. Remember that local cell service and phone lines will most likely be disrupted in a disaster, so have a family member or friend outside of the County that will be your point of contact. For more information and a short worksheet, you can complete, check out https://cloveready.org/
https://cloveready.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/WORKSHEETForCloveReady_2.pdf
Coming This Summer: What’s the best thing we can do to be prepared for emergency? Know our neighbors. Think about it. Everyone wants to live in a safe, connected, and healthy community. The challenge is that everyone is so busy with their day-to-day routine, it’s hard to find time to meet and get to know each other.
Resilient Cloverdale wants to join you in having a block party. Block parties are a tried and true way to get people out in the street together for a few hours of fun, food, and neighboring. Connected communities are safer communities. Hosting a block party is not only a lot of fun, it’s also the easiest/fastest way to get the whole block together to break bread and get to know each other. Also, hosting a block party can also prepare your community to work together during times of stress to protect vulnerable residents on the block.
If you’re interested in hosting a block party with a few neighbors on your street and desire to incorporate emergency preparedness resources into your event, please reach out to us resilient@cloverdalechamber.com We are here for you to be CloveReady!
